I'm Part of the Team
by TheMusicBullet
Summary: The penguins look for a new recruit. What will they be like, and how will all of their lives be affected? Read to find out more...


Skipper sat up in bed, groaning. It was going to be a long day.

Ever since the last mission, when things had gone horribly wrong- and as much as he hated to admit it- he'd realized that maybe it was time to get some new blood in the ranks. You know. In case the unthinkable happened. The four commando penguins weren't exactly young anymore. Neither was Marlene, the newest addition (although it had been years ago) to their team who had proven her immense worth. Besides, there were just some things where they needed more people.  
>He hopped out of bed and looked at the clock on the wall. Three o'clock AM. <em>I really should go back to bed so that I'm not exhausted tomorrow…<em> he thought. _Then again, I did promise my troops that they could sleep in today until ten. A small reward for our victory. Well, our victory that we barely won, that is._ Skipper sighed. While he was up, he'd get a snack. Just a little something to ease his tension. He walked over to the fridge.  
>But he found that he couldn't stop thinking about it. The new recruit would have to be smart. Of course, he doubted that they'd be able to find someone as smart as Kowalski, but that was alright. In some ways, it was good. Two geniuses walking around babbling scientific nonsense would be too much for him to take. But he couldn't be an idiot, either. <em>Or she,<em> he reminded himself. When he'd started dating Marlene (again, many years ago. He wanted to propose to her soon!), he'd realized that females weren't as useless as he thought. Or as weak. Or- he wouldn't even allow himself to consider the possibility anymore. This radical change in his thinking had taken some adjusting to. But he had eventually come to terms with the fact that women were just as good as men.  
>He was open to the possibility of any animal really. Just as long as they weren't blabby or annoying. Or an idiot. Which was why he would never, EVER consider Ringtail a potential addition to their elite team. Oh, yeah, and they have to be physically fit and all that other stuff. Which Julien was… But no. Just no. Never a lemur. Unless one should miraculous come along someday that wasn't… Like the other ones. Oh, well. He'd talk about it to his team in the morning.<br>He groaned as he pulled out his special Alaskan trout that he'd been saving for a special occasion. He talked to his gut. _I think this qualifies as a special occasion, don't you? Bon appetit._ Without further ado, he downed it in one gulp.  
>But even as he swallowed his delicious snack, began having doubts about the days to come. What if he should… die… and leave the team without a leader? Of course, Kowalski was a very capable leader, but sometimes he doubted whether the team would be… as… capable. The others would do just fine without him, of course. But what if one of the others died and… left? What about Marlene? Would things work out between them? What about Dr. Blowhole? Where was he and what was his next nefarious scheme? And all his other enemies? Where would they ever find as capable a teammate as Kowalski, Rico, Private, or Marlene? Where while he did… and the Privates of Goatland… He shook his head to clear his mind. He was falling asleep again. <em>I need to go back to bed. Definitely.<em>  
>As he got into bed he thought that he might even settle for a human on their team…<br>_ No,_ he told himself. _That's a crazy idea. We all know how deceitful and interfering they are. They'd mess everything up. If we ever let one in on our secret, before we know it we'll be in government agencies and they'll be testing every inch of our bodies to find out how so-called 'dumb animals' acquired intelligence._ He snorted in disgust. Idiot creatures. Most of them weren't even able to defend themselves. They would just cause damage to the team.  
>As he fell asleep, it crossed his mind that he had once thought the same about women…<p>

**HEY! Please review and tell me what you think. My plan is that the penguins will find a... certain recruit** (*cough cough* ahem ahakk ME haaak gaah *cough*) **and will train him or her to be part of the team. And there WILL be problems. MANY problems.**


End file.
